A number of different automated clinical chemical analyzers are known in the art. Such analyzers range from simple, largely manually-operated instruments to highly complex, nearly fully automated instruments. Each analyzer has its own particular performance characteristics related to the number of different tests ("menu") that the analyzer can perform and the number of samples that the analyzer can process in a given period of time ("throughput").
As sophisticated and efficient as are many of today's automated analyzers, several problems continue to exist. First and foremost is throughput capacity. Every second which can be saved in the analysis time of a single sample means millions of dollars in savings of precious medical resources. Therefore, there is continuous pressure on analyzer manufacturers to increase throughput. The automated analyzers of the prior art are quite fast, but not fast enough.
An additional problem in the prior art is cost of operation. Most automated analyzers of the prior art use relatively large reaction containers ("cuvettes") which require an excessive amount of expensive reagent materials.
Still another problem in the prior art is the amount of time that an operator must spend inputting data and instructions into the analyzer. This diminishes throughput and causes excessive manpower expenses.
Still another problem related to throughput is the necessity of prior art analyzing machines which use a nephelometric analyzer to periodically shut down operations to calibrate the nephelometer.
Finally, there is a problem regarding throughput vacuum drain systems used in automatic analyzers of the prior art. Such vacuum drain systems are generally wasteful with respect to the use of vacuum. Such waste results in the use of excessively large vacuum usage and may decrease throughput of the analyzer.
Accordingly, there is a need for an automated clinical chemical analyzer which has greater throughput than prior art analyzer modules, requires less manpower to operate, is more reliable and is more efficient.